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King Harold
King Harold Godwinson was king of england from the 6th January, 1066, to the 14th of October, 1066. He was elected king when Edward the confessor died and he took the crown for himself. However his actions ultimately led to his downfall as William , Duke of Normandy, interpreted his reign as a declaration of war and invaded. He is one of only three English kings to die in battle. Reign as King Before the battle of hastings, Harold became Earl of Wessex and Hereford, making himself the most powerful man, except the king, in England. After Edward the Confessor, the previous king, dies with no heir. Harold, having been promised by Edward that he would be king, believed that the English throne was rightfully his. Edward was crowned king on the 6th of January, 1066. Viking invasion and the battle of Stamford Bridge In 1066 William decided to invade England because he believ d that he was rightfully king. Harold knew of this and massed an army in the Isle of Wight to counter the Norman invasion. When the invasion did not come, Harold's troops began to get tired and bored. Harold disbanded his army, and would you know it, an attack came. From the Vikings. Instead of the Norman army in the South they were expecting, news had arrived that vikings had attacked in the North! Harold rushed his little troops up north from London to York, 185 kilometers, in just 5 days, by collecting the bulk of his army from the farms along the way. When Harold arrived in York, he and his army found the Viking army relaxing, with no armor or weapons on. They believed that Harold would not arrive until a few more days! Harold took the Vikings by surprise and slaughtered the first half of the Viking army and then charging across Stamford bridge, which the battle was named after. Harold's army then proceeded to pound the Vikings so hard that they surrendered and promised to never attack England again. The survivors were then allowed to leave. Norman invasion After defeating the Vikings, Harold received a message from London that the dreaded Norman invasion had arrived, this time in the south. William was taunting Harold by burning down villages and pillaging homes. Harold was forced to march his exhausted army down South again, ready for a battle much greater than before. Harold marched his battered army down to a town called Battle, North-West of Hastings. Harold decided to employ the simple strategy of making his opponents fight uphill. Harold led his soldiers to Senlac hill, where they interlocked their sheilds in a strategy known as the English shield Wall. Death and Legacy After many hours of intense battle and fighting, William decided to make one last effort to destroy Harold's army before sunset. He ordered his soldiers to instead of firing at the Shield wall, fire upwards on a parabolic arc to rain down on the English soldiers. It worked. The arrows sailed right over the English sheilds, and rained down upon the English soldiers. In fact, it worked so well that King Harold was hit in the eye by a stray arrow. Harold lay on the ground, injured, as moral plummeted in the English Ranks. The Shield wall broke apart, and Norman soldiers stormed inside the English army to find and Kill Harold. They succeeded. William moved on to London and was crowned King on Christmas day, 1066. He was then on known as William the Conqueror . Category:History